


Shelter from the Storm

by sillythings



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 05:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11730642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillythings/pseuds/sillythings
Summary: “What if...One day…you realized that you just weren’t meant to be a fighter.  Yet the only thing people ever said, was that you were born into a family of the royal guard, and so no matter what you thought, you had to become a knight.”“If that was the only thing you were ever told...I wonder then….would you have chosen a different path?”An exploration of what could have happened after Zelda asks this question in Link's memory.





	Shelter from the Storm

“I doubt this will let up anytime soon,” Zelda remarked, looking up into the gathering black clouds.

The storm had threatened since they left Zora’s Domain, and it had finally caught up with them, the first cold drops falling steadily. They had considered riding through, of course, but muddy roads and horses spooked by lightning were risks Link did not think worth taking. Zelda’s safety, if not her comfort, were first and foremost, so the princess and the knight took shelter beneath a large tree, its spreading branches protecting them from the worst of the rain. Beneath the tree, leaning against the trunk were large boulders, forming a kind of alcove, maybe an ancient altar of sorts, judging by the two stone statues positioned in front. Zelda believed them to be a representation of a husband and wife, indicating that the altar could have been a site to beseech the goddess for good harvest and fertility. She took a photo on her Sheikah slate and declared them charming.

The princess’s elation at finding shelter from the rain but the ancient artifacts to was short lived, and she settled into a pensive silence, watching Link as he took advantage of the break in their travels to practice with the Master Sword. Link heard her comment on the weather but remained focused on his exercises.

“Your path seems to mirror your father’s,” Zelda went on. “You’ve dedicated yourself to becoming a knight as well. Your commitment to your training necessary to fulfill your goal is really quite admirable.”

Link glanced to the side, acknowledging her directly for the first time since he began his practice. Zelda had been so rude, so pig-headed, for so long that she did not expect him to accept the compliment immediately, but she meant it. She dared to think they had become friends and wanted to him to know that she did admire him greatly.

“I see now why you would be the chosen one.”

She cast a fond smile at him as he raised the Master Sword and regarded it with something akin to pride. He worked very hard to be worthy of the sword and of his duty to the princess. She saw that now. She never had cause to doubt his dedication to his destiny or to her -- even if she did fall short in her own duties.

“What if...” Zelda’s tone became wistful, and Link turned toward her, lowering the fabled weapon to give her his full attention.

“One day…” She hesitated, looking down and away from his intense stare, “...you realized that you just weren’t meant to be a fighter. Yet the only thing people ever said, was that you were born into a family of the royal guard, and so no matter what you thought, you had to become a knight.”

Her shoulders slumped as she continued.

“If that was the only thing you were ever told...I wonder then….would you have chosen a different path?”

She raised her head, turning her green eyes up at him, hoping for some kind of response, any kind of response from this stoic and all too silent young man.

Link stood staring at her waiting for her to continue. Did he think it was a rhetorical question? Was he waiting for her to answer for herself, as she often did? She hoped he had not misunderstood her. He had recently shared with her his own doubts and worries, slowly and painfully opening up to her gentle yet persistent questions. The princess was trying very hard to make amends, and she thought he had begun to understand that her impatience and frustration was not about him at all. She never doubted him. Only herself.

He walked toward her slowly and bent to collect the scabbard that lay on the ground beside her. Still no words passed his lips. Perhaps she had offended him. He had told her he did not find it easy to share such personal matters with anyone, but she had hoped that he saw her in a different light and that he, out of anyone in all the world, would know what she meant.

He sheathed the Master Sword and rested it against the stone wall behind her. Zelda’s eyes watched his movements but she stayed in the same miserable huddle, quiet despair clinging to her like the cold rain clung to her skin. Link looked down at the girl and opened his mouth to speak, but a dizzying burst of light and a sharp crack of thunder cut off his words before he could even begin.

Zelda gasped, blinded and stunned for a moment, before rolling to her knees and dodging behind the two squat statues, seeking cover in the rocky shelter. Link was close behind.

“Oh my goodness!” she panted, eyes wide and frightened when they were safely nestled inside the sheltering stones. “You’ve left your sword outside, I hope! Metal attracts lightning and even the Master Sword is not…Oh!” Another flash of lightning and clap of thunder made her flinch instinctively, leaning against Link. He put a steadying arm around her shoulders.

“I doubt Urbosa could do any better!” Zelda gave a shaky laugh and the corner of Link’s mouth quirked into a polite smile at her feeble joke.

The rain began to fall even harder, forming a gray curtain that reduced all visibility. Even the statues just outside of the alcove were indistinct, but within the gloom of the shelter, they were relatively safe and fairly dry. There was nothing to do but wait it out.

For some time, they sat in silence, listening to the rain and the sound of each other breathing. How loud she sounded in her own ears! Zelda shivered and she felt the arm that encircled her shoulders tighten, bringing her just a bit closer to his warm side. Feeling tired and defeated, Zelda dropped her head to his shoulder, taking comfort in his closeness. She could feel him looking at her. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“Yes,” he said aloud. Much too loud it seemed in the little alcove, even with the sound of rain and thunder surrounding them. Zelda startled and lifted her head to look at him in the gloomy light, puzzled.

“Yes, what?” she asked.

He paused and scratched the back of his head. “Yes, I would choose a different path.”

She stared at him, open-mouthed and confused for a moment before realizing he was answering her question from before.

“So…” Zelda was momentarily speechless, a very rare occurrence, indeed. “So, you WOULD abandon being a knight…”

“Not now,” he interrupted, his arm tightening again around her.

“No, not now, “ her cheeks flushed a little, and she sat up straighter which made him drop his arm from her shoulder, she noted with disappointment. She leaned in, pressing him to explain himself.

“But you...if hypothetically, you KNEW you were not a fighter, you would choose another path, even if EVERYONE told you otherwise?”

His blue eyes turned to stare out into the rain, considering a moment more before he nodded.

“Yes.”

That one word stunned Zelda more than the lightning had done, and she looked at him intently, looking for any sign of a lie -- not that his face ever gave away much.

“But...what would you do then?” she almost whispered. What would he do? What should she do was the real question, of course, but they were getting to that. She hoped.

“Whatever I was good at, I suppose.” He was very, very good in the battlefield. The heaps of Lynels and Bokobolins and Yiga Clan he left lying in the Gerudo desert were testament to that fact. Was he good at anything else?

“And what is that? Besides fighting?”

Zelda watched Link carefully as he reflected upon what his life would have been without the Master Sword calling to him, without his skill in battle. She was much better at deciphering his thoughts lately. When she ceased to project her own self-hatred onto him, Zelda realized he was so much more than the distant hero who had accomplished the one thing she could not, and she liked him all the better for it. And when she ceased to project her own feelings of inadequacy upon him, she realized he did not despise her at all. Quite the opposite in fact. Otherwise he never would have told her how he struggled to hide his fears, his uncertainty, his gluttony...

“Cooking?” he suggested.

Zelda huffed out a quiet laugh. “You do like to eat! Just not frogs…” She alluded to their last day of field research where she had, by lucky chance, come across a hot-footed frog and proposed that they conduct a scientific study then and there.

The corner of his mouth twitched again and he smiled, “Well, not raw, at least.”

She laughed again, “Perhaps I do need to research the properties of that frog more thoroughly. I am beginning to believe you need to stew the creature with other ingredients to produce the most potent elixir, one sure to augment certain abilities. Let’s gather as many herbs and creatures as we can on the rest of our journey. If I’m not mistaken, you did save some of the Bokoblin fangs and horns?”

She brightened a moment before the smile faded.

“But who knows when I’ll have time to test that theory. I must prepare for Mount Lanayru sooner rather than later. There won’t be time for brewing potions once we are back in the castle. My father will see to that.” She clinched her fists and took a deep, quivering breath.

“I am a fraud,” she burst out suddenly, her breathing noisier and faster as she tried to hold back her tears. She was snorting like a Bokoblin, but she could not help herself. She could feel Link staring at her with that inscrutable blue gaze.

“Sometimes I feel the same” he murmured, reminding her that she was not alone. She knew his doubts often got the better of him. He had told her, hadn’t he?

“But you are wonderful!” she snuffled. It was not the same for him even if he did get scared sometimes. He blinked and even in her emotional turn, she could tell she had surprised him. “You are brave and strong, and you have been chosen by the sword! Do you hear it speak to you? Truly?”

He nodded.

“Well, what does it say?” she demanded. If only she could have more than a hazy memory of her mother telling her that one day her gift would come. What she wouldn’t give to have some reassurance that her training and prayers were not all in vain.

“Right now. It think it’s unhappy about being left out in the rain,” he quipped, but she refused to smile.

“At least you have the sword to prove you are on the right track! What do I have? Nothing but research journals, a sack of ancient gears, and calluses on my knees from praying night and day.” She hid her face in her hands and wept. Oh, but wasn’t she just an envious little pig!

For a long moment, he sat unmoving, silent as usual, but then he reached out and brushed a lock of her golden hair behind one pointed ear. She lifted her teary green eyes to his and he brought his hand to her cheek. A smell of wet rock and earth and the green smell of growing things was in her nose, but above that was the smell of him and her, the scent of warm skin through drying clothes, parchment and ink, woodsmoke and axle grease and crushed petals. She saw his throat work and he exhaled heavily. The cool air had quickly become close and warm.

“I believe in your research,” he finally said. Zelda’s eyes widened in surprise and she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off, leaning closer to emphasize the importance of this truth. The words spoken close to her own lips, barely any space between them now.

“Because of your studies, we will have a fighting chance when Ganon returns. One hero with a sword, even a magical sword, how could I alone defeat evil incarnate? You have helped repair the Divine Beasts and train the champions. You have worked tirelessly with Purah, Robbie and Impa to master the Sheikah technologies. Because of you, I will not be alone when the time comes to defend the realm. Your work gives me hope,” he said and then fell silent again. It was a very long speech for him, but he held her gaze steadily, the stoic mask gone for the moment, his honest, open expression telling her more than his words ever could.

Zelda’s head spun with a strange mix of pleased confusion and uncertainty. He could not have given her any greater comfort to her than he just had. Zelda tried to think of a fitting response but her tongue felt thick and useless. So still and so silent, but when he did choose to speak, it took all her words away. Acting on instinct, the princess leaned forward and closed the space between them, quickly brushing her warm lips against his in a gentle kiss of gratitude. He stiffened and and his eyes widened but he did not react in any other way. Zelda pulled back blushing red to the tips of her ears. She was a fool.

“I’m sorry!” Zelda exclaimed, lifting a hand to her mouth. Oh, why didn’t the earth open up and swallow her now!

“I shouldn’t have presumed to...you are my knight...and I…I just wanted to thank yo-...oh, Hylia, what have I...”

She was drowning in her mortification, but before she could finish this train of thought, Link blinked rapidly and pounced on her. There was really no other word for it. One moment he was staring at her dumbfounded and the next moment she was in his strong arms, held tightly against his chest. His mouth found hers, swallowing up her fretful words. With parted his lips, he tasted her, and she gasped, opening her mouth to his flicking tongue.

The rain continued to fall, hiding the sun, but inside the darkened alcove, Zelda felt positively aglow. How had she never realized how delightful kissing was? She had kissed her father, of course, and it was not uncommon for her to kiss her friends on the cheek to say hello or goodbye. She had kissed Daruk on his massive stoney forehead when he first took the controls of Vah Rudania, and Zelda had even kissed Link once. After he saved her from the Yiga Clan’s attack, she knelt before him to apologize for her rude and unseemly behavior. She had taken his hand in her own and humbly kissed his knuckles, still scabbed from the brawl in the desert, an action that had discomfited him greatly. He begged her to rise to her feet and not think so ill of herself. But she did think badly of herself, and no kiss either given or received had ever made any difference about that.

But this...this was nothing compared to those kisses. She closed her eyes to savor the feeling. This was spice and gold and hot, Gerudo winds, that is until he moved from her mouth and trailed wet, nibbling kisses to her ear and neck. Then, oh then, she shivered as if she were atop the highest peak in the Hebra, but the warm, golden glow stayed low in her belly, kindling something she could not name.

Why could she not name it? In all of her research, surely this was something she should not have missed learning about! There were elixirs to make you run quickly, and elixirs that gave you extra stamina to endure taxing physical labor. There were even potions to make your blood warm in the cold and cool in the heat, but how could a few kisses produce all of these effects at once? Perhaps there was a tome in the castle library she could ---

She opened her eyes to find Link staring down at her with a mix of amusement, frustration and...was that? What was that? She had seen him stare down a haunch of roasting meat with that expression before he tore into it with relish. She shivered again and thought about his teeth on her throat just moments before, licking and biting gently at her skin. Was he going to devour her whole, eat her up like ---

“Stop thinking so much” he interrupted her ruminations with a groan and suddenly she was on her back, the springy grass and dried leaves that lined the floor their shelter beneath her. His mouth was on hers again and one hand was trailing slowly down her side until he reached the firm, fleshy curve of her thigh and hooked her leg around his hip, and that...that was glorious. He was right. He was always right. She should stop thinking and chase this lovely sensation. The gold in her belly flared brighter and hotter and he pressed closer and closer.

Her hands found his soft hair, traced the point of an ear, before sliding down, down and under the loose blue tunic he wore, sliding over the smooth warm skin of his back. She clutched him to her as he breathed into her ear, his mouth again at her neck. He braced his weight on one arm and rocked into her which made her utter a most unladylike moan, but she didn’t care because the golden light was growing, filling her right down to her curling toes. She rocked back against him, finding a delightful rhythm which made that amazing light even brighter.

When his mouth finally found hers again and one hand tentatively brushed the swell of her breast, the light exploded within her. She was sure beams of pure gold were radiating from her fingers, her toes and the top of her head. She heard herself moan again and she clutched at Link, trying to anchor herself in this sea of light. He pressed closer and rocked faster against her. His lips were at her ear, whispering a steady stream of sweet nonsense -- honey, sweet, clever, clever, goddess, godde--! And he was crying out too, his seldom used voice loud in the sudden stillness. Time stopped.

The wave of golden light slowly receded, but Zelda basked in the residual warmth, holding Link in the cradle of her arms. Her legs, still wrapped around his hips felt heavy so she let them drop down, opening herself up to him, to the light, opening her eyes to see her chosen knight, the hero of Hyrule, that sweet, hungry boy staring down at her, blue eyes wide with astonishment.

“What was that?” she asked, reaching up a languid hand to stroke his face. The gold was in her bones, making her arms so heavy. A flicker of shame marred the open wonder of his expression and he rolled off of her, onto his back, the niche too small for him to go far, staring at the gray stone above them.

“I’m so sorry!” he gasped, trying to catch his breath. He sounded as if he had been fighting a Lynel rather than merely kissing a princess. Zelda frowned and turned to her side, up on one elbow, to look at him more clearly.

“But why?” she asked, reaching out to lay a hand on his chest, feeling his heart thundering beneath her fingertips. “Was it -- was it bad?” She started to withdraw her hand -- the familiar doubt and insecurity that colored everything good in her life clutching her warm golden glow in its cold gray claws -- but he reached up and caught her fingers, pressing her palm back to the hard plane of his chest.

“No…” he breathed quietly, his expression again tender and open. He smiled at her. “It was beautiful, but...” He closed his eyes, and swallowed thickly.

“But…” she continued softly, stroking his chest, “most improper for the princess of Hyrule.” It didn’t feel improper, though. For one golden moment, she felt as though everything was exactly right.

He slid a sideways glance at her.

“...And for the champion of the sword,” but his tone lacked conviction. Whatever shame he had now, he had felt the rightness of it too. She was certain of it. For once though, she did feel up to challenging him, to make him say what he really thought. She still felt too heavy and warm to try to make any sense of it.

He reached for her then, settling her against him, her head once more resting on his shoulder. Zelda felt a soft kiss pressed into her hair, and the golden glow that had started so low in her belly flared, just the tiniest bit, at this tender gesture and reached to her still thudding heart. They lay still and quiet for a long time, until Link’s steady breathing lulled Zelda into a peaceful doze.

When she awoke, the rain had stopped and the pink rays of the evening sun were slanting into the mouth of alcove. Link was outside already, strapping on his scabbard, the horses standing at the ready. He heard her stir behind him and turned to offer her a hand as she emerged from the stoney nook. His face was back to its old resolute mask, she noted with a sigh. She took his hand and stood up with a small groan.

“Well, at least the rain has stopped,” she offered lamely, not sure what one said in such a situation. None of her research or her courtly training had prepared her for this.

He smiled then, and squeezed her hand briefly before dropping it to finish packing up. She watched him, all quick, quiet efficiency and wondered a moment if she had simply dreamed of his kisses and the beautiful warmth between them, but no, it was no dream. Her lips were swollen and there was a sticky throb where he had rocked his hips against her. She still felt the embers of that golden light, waiting to be rekindled.

When everything was packed and made ready, he helped her mount her horse, and she was sure she was not imagining his hand lingering on her thigh. Or was he just making sure she was firmly seated before turning to his own mount? As if things were not already uncertain enough between them...

“Onward home, then,” she said with a brightness she did not feel. He looked at her and nodded before urging his horse forward. Her fear and loneliness returned, somehow even worse now when compared to that beautiful light she had so recently felt, that he had made her feel. She sighed again and dug her heels into her mount, onward home, indeed. To the stone walls of the castle, to her father, to endless prayers that went nowhere. No golden light waited for her there, she was sure.

Link clearing his throat brought her out of her mournful reverie, and she looked up to see him riding alongside her. His cheeks were pink, and he rubbed a hand over the back of his head.

“Ah...I gathered a few lizards and things while you slept,” he began, “They are in your saddlebag.”

She glanced down to the pouch that hung from her saddle and back into his bright blue eyes. She was at something of a loss. After what happened between them, he wanted to talk to her about lizards?

“For your research,” he continued, “You said that the creatures may need to be cooked with other ingredients to achieve the effect. I’m even willing to offer myself up to your...ah...experimentation.” The tips of his ears were turning red, but he held her astonished gaze.

“Well, then, Sir Knight,” she replied when she finally found her voice, “I most gratefully accept your service. With your level of physical fitness,” she felt her face grow hot with her own daring, “you will be a perfect candidate for my studies.”

Link’s delighted chuckle warmed her to her very heart. They turned their horses toward the castle, and for the first time in a very long time, Zelda dared to hope for the future.


End file.
